The Poona Pact explained : a thread

On September 24, 1932, the Poona Pact was signed between Gandhi, who represented the upper-caste Hindu leaders and Dr Ambedkar, who represented the Dalits, in Yerawada Jail. This pact put an end to separate electorates for Dalits which was the biggest mistake of Babasaheb's life

Separate electorates meant that seats were reserved for minorities, in which only those minorities would vote to elect their own representatives. In 1909, the separate electorates were first introduced for Muslims & extended to Sikhs, Christians, Anglo-Indians & Europeans in 1919

Dr Ambedkar fought for similar political representation of Dalits. He wanted reforms & policies that would socially & economically uplift Dalits. In 1927, he welcomed the Simon Commission which found that education was denied to Dalits who were discriminated on the basis of caste

The Simon Commission had no Indian leaders because they were all upper-caste & the aim of the Simon Commission was to uplift the Dalits from casteism & untouchability. It was boycotted by upper-caste leaders because they did not want their hegemony over Indian politics to end

At the second round table conference in 1931, Gandhi declared himself as the only qualified person to represent Dalits, and refused to acknowledge Ambedkar, who was himself a Dalit. During the round table conference, Ambedkar strongly argued for separate electorates for Dalits

In 1932, the Communal Award was introduced by British PM MacDonald after the Second Round Table conference. It meant that the separate electorates would be extended to Dalits, who were suffering from rampant untouchability & casteism, and had no political or socio-economic rights

For over 20 years, the upper-caste Hindus had no problem in giving representation to Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, etc. But they were outraged when the British tried to uplift the Dalits. They feared that if the lower castes gained power, they would lose their authority over Dalits

Gandhi, a supporter of the caste system, decided to fast unto death unless Dalits were denied separate electorates. He believed granting Dalits political rights would cause a rift in Hinduism. However there was already a divide in Hinduism caused by the deplorable caste system

This led to Gandhi vilifying Ambedkar as the person responsible for his fast. If something were to happen to Gandhi, the blame would be placed on Ambedkar, who only wanted to grant equal rights to his people. Upper-caste leaders like Tagore & Nehru also backed Gandhi's blackmail

Ambedkar was labelled a traitor, a villain, a sinner by the upper-castes for fighting for the rights of Dalits. It was imminent that if Gandhi died, his supporters would surely k¡|| Ambedkar, along with the lakhs of Dalits who were already the victims of casteism & untouchability

Ambedkar tried to argue with reason & logic, but Gandhi was hell-bent on denying separate electorate to Dalits. Ambedkar urged that the reserved seats should be settled by an election of Dalits after 25 years, to which Gandhi replied "5 years or my life". Ambedkar had no option

Ambedkar had to choose between the rights of his people and the life of an old man. He had to think about what would happen to ordinary Dalits around the country if Gandhi died. As tensions around the country rose, Ambedkar finally decided to give in to the demands of Gandhi

Ambedkar caved in & signed the Poona Pact on this day in 1932. The pact granted political representation to Dalits, but deprived them of any separate electorates, which were given to Muslims, Sikhs & Christians. Ambedkar was evidently disappointed. On the very next day, he said:

"There was nothing noble in the fast. It was a foul & filthy act. It was the worst form of coercion against helpless people to give up constitutional safeguards & agree to live on the mercy of the Hindus. It was vile & wicked. How can Dalits regard such a man as honest & sincere"

Ambedkar regretted signing the Poona Pact till his dying day. He knew denying separate electorates to Dalits would result in snowflake leaders, which can be seen today. He knew signing the Poona Pact would result in the upper-caste Hindus dictating the lives of the Dalits

Even today, leaders like Ramdas Athavale, Jagjivan Ram, Udit Raj, Ram Vilas Paswan, etc are reduced to stooges who are controlled by upper-caste party leadership. If you want to know more about this, read the book "Chamcha Age, the Era of the Stooges" by Manyawar Kanshiram